The present invention relates to a modular fence, of the type comprised of mesh panels, usually based on electrically welded metal wires, and of tubular support posts which are fixed at the bottom into the ground or into supporting bases.
Fences of the type mentioned are widely used in forming enclosures, which may be fixed as well as removable.
Panels of which these fences are comprised generally consist of two series of rods which intersect perpendicularly and the intersecting rods are joined together by electrical welds at the points of intersection. The mesh can be mounted in a rectangular frame formed from metal sectional bars, for example. Two of the parallel sides of the frame have means enabling joining the sides together and to the support posts. For example, see EP 0808969. These types of panels are expensive, because they include the peripheral frame.
A metal fence known from Spanish Utility Model 9301333 is formed of panels which are mounted on vertical stanchions based on L-shaped sectional bars. The long leg of these sectional bars has flanges on its inner surface for anchoring the meshes. Moreover, this leg has orifices pierced vertically into it. When the fence is set up, the adjacent vertical stanchions of consecutive panels are joined together by the long leg of the L, with the orifices facing each other in order that fixing screws may pass through. This system requires prior operations for fixing of the mesh to the vertical sectional bars and, subsequently, requires connection between sectional bars by means of screws. The cost of the fence is high, due to both the forming of the panels and the operations for joining consecutive panels together.
Mesh-based panels are also known, which are made up as set out above, and in which the mesh has horizontally extending shaped depressions which make it possible to insert the vertical posts between the ends of the horizontal wires, outside the extreme vertical wires, with the horizontal wires being welded to the posts. This construction requires the mesh to be joined to the vertical posts by welding, which also increases the costs of manufacture and limits the composition of the fence, so that the mesh and posts are made up as a single piece.
The object of the present invention is to eliminate the problems mentioned, in a fence of the type set out at the beginning, in which the panels and support posts constitute independent elements and in which the panels are formed only by a mesh, which comprises two perpendicular series of wires, joined together by welding at their points of intersection.
A further object of the invention is to provide a fence in which the connecting or fixing of the mesh-based panels to the vertical support posts can be carried out rapidly and simply, without complicated joining operations.
The fence of the invention, as noted above, is comprised of mesh panels and tubular fixing posts.
In accordance with the invention, the mesh panels have horizontally extending shaped depressions, depressed to a depth, approximately equal to the width of the fixing posts. These posts are inserted snugly between the horizontal rods of the depressions and of the non-shaped, non-depressed horizontally extending regions, and in a direction perpendicular to the horizontal rods, and between two consecutive vertical rods.
The two consecutive vertical rods between which a fixing post is inserted are separated from each other by a distance equal to the width of the posts.
With this construction, the vertical tubular posts are inserted snugly between the horizontal rods of the shaped depressions and the non-shaped regions and between the above-mentioned two consecutive vertical rods.
The mesh panels may be bounded at their vertical edges by the two extreme vertical rods, and the horizontal rods will terminate at these extreme rods. On the other hand, all the vertical rods can be shaped apart an equal distance from each other, corresponding to the width of the parts, such that in forming the fence, each panel can be mounted on one, two or more posts, taking up intermediate or extreme positions on the panel.
The mesh panels include at least two horizontally shaped features, each of them close to one of the horizontal edges of the panel.
Also preferably, the horizontally shaped features will be of a height greater than the separation between two consecutive horizontal rods.
In forming a fence, the meshes belonging to consecutive panels can be connected together by means of clips comprised of channeled pieces with a C-shaped profile, partially closed, dimensioned to embrace the two adjacent extreme vertical rods of two consecutive panels. The walls of these C-shaped pieces have two opposed intermediate transverse cut-outs, of a width sufficient for being coupled onto two aligned horizontal rods, one on each side, and belonging to the two consecutive panels.
As is traditional with this type of fence, the vertical tubular columns are closed off by a cap-shaped upper cover. In accordance with the invention, this cap has an aperture in its side wall, cutting across the cap, parallel and adjacent the bottom of the cap. Coincident with the cap a flange projects all along the length of the cap and in extension of the bottom of the cap. The flange forms a channel that is turned towards the aperture and is separated from the lower edge of the channel by a distance greater than the diameter of the rods which make up the meshes of the panels.
This channel can be coupled around the upper horizontal rod of the panel, with freedom to rotate on that rod. This serves as an anchoring or fastening element between the mesh and the post.
The walls of the cover which are perpendicular to the above-mentioned aperture have curving projections on their inner surface which projections can be inserted into opposable orifices in the walls of the tubular posts, when the cover is coupled onto the post. The projections can define locking devices, which may or may not be releasable.
The mesh panels can be finished off, both at their top and their bottom, by an arched longitudinal stretch, which is turned towards the same side as the horizontally extending shaped depressions of the panel and is of slightly greater width than the depth of the depressions. This accommodates the corresponding end of the metal posts and, in the case of the upper end, also accommodates the anchoring cover of the post. The arched stretch is bounded by horizontal rods. The above-mentioned cover is anchored to one of the rods. This arched stretch is preferably of approximately semicircular profile, substantially equal in diameter to the width of the cover which closes off the anchor posts.